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Wonton Soup: Fast and Easy

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Do you LOVE a steamy bowl of Wonton soup?

With the tasty ingredients at Trader Joe’s you can have a delicious bowl of Wonton style soup anytime without even leaving your house!

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Here is my bowl of soup- I added some shredded zucchini, ginger and garlic to the broth- YUMMOOO!

Last week the weather started to get cooler here in the Midwest, and there were a few days of heavy rain so my cravings for a big bowl of soup came on strong!

My favorite part was that I could make this wonderful soup at home and watch some fun flicks – all warm and toasty!

Thank You Trader Joe’s!

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Here is the super easy recipe: 

  • 1 box broth (I like vegetable broth, but chicken or beef would also work)
  • 1 bag potstickers or Gyoza – any flavor (We used Shrimp Gyoza this time)

Extras to consider:

  • Ginger root (grate into the broth)
  • garlic (grate into the broth)
  • sesame oil
  • soy sauce
  • leftover cooked vegies

What to do:

Bring your stock of choice to a boil in a large pot over medium heat.

Carefully slip the frozen Goyza into the hot stock and reduce heat to simmer.  Add any extras you are using to the pot such as leftover cooked vegies, garlic or ginger as well and cook for 10 minutes.

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Serve in big bowls with a big spoon!

I also like to drizzle the top of the soup with a little sesame oil and soy sauce when I am serving it. You will see it in the pictures.

This is an AWESOME soup to make when you are feeling a bit under the weather too… Just a few ingredients and it will warm you up from the inside.

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Tortilla Soup

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This recipe is #3 in a series of easy recipes for Cinco de Mayo.

This version of easy tortilla soup is the kind that we have been making for years. It is broth based (use chicken broth or vegetable broth) and then an assortment of “additions” go into the broth to form the basis for the soup.  Next, and we think this is the  best part, is the variety of toppings that you can use for this soup. We like to serve the soup up in bowls and then allow each person to add their own toppings at the table.

This easy tortilla soup is also a great way to use up leftovers such as rice, beans or vegetables, as the soup is so flexible.  In addition you can make this soup as spicy as you like with some of the suggestions under variations.

Because this soup is so flexible and forgivng, we are only going to give you a general guideline for amounts that you will need. You may want to add more beans or chicken if this soup is a “main dish” soup, and use less, or omit all together if this soup is going to be served along with other hearty choices.

What you need:

Soup:

  • Trader Joe’s vegetable or chicken stock (1 quart)
  • Cooked, diced chicken
  • 1 can beans  (pinto or black) rinsed and drained
  • 1-2 cups Leftover vegetables (or Trader Joe’s Organic Foursome frozen diced vegetables)

Toppings:

  • Diced avocado
  • Shredded cheese
  • Sliced green onions
  • Crushed tortilla chips

How to:

1. Bring the stock to a boil in a large pan.

2. Add the remaining soup ingredients and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, to let all the flavors blend together.

3. Serve the soup and pass small bowls of the toppings.

Variations:

  • Add 1 can Trader Joe’s diced green chilies to the soup for more spice.
  • Add cooked rice to the soup
  • Add cooked chorizo or taco meat instead of chicken
  • Additional toppings include: Chicharrones (fried pork skin), diced tomatoes, sour cream or Durango dip, olives
  • Squeeze of lime juice

As you can see, this recipe is almost limitless in what you can add to the soup.  You could make this soup when you want to use up an assortment of leftovers (especially after tacos or fajitas some night), and just have a quart of Trader Joe’s chicken or vegetable stock on hand ready to make into this soup.

Did you make this soup? What were your favorite toppings?

Tortilla Soup, Mexico City Style

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This recipe is #4 in a series of easy recipes for Cinco de Mayo.

As you read in a previous post, we just love Tortilla soup so on our recent trip to Mexico City we had to order some, right? (I mean WOW we were in Mexico City after all!)

Well, we were surprised at what we got.

First of all, the presentation was awesome.  We ordered this soup at three different restaurants all over Mexico City, and the presentation was the same each time. (Now, this could be the way that all soup is served, but we would like to think it was special for the Tortilla soup).

This is what they did: The waiter brought a bowl to the table, which had only some skinny tortilla strips in the bottom. Next, another server came out with a pitcher (like you would serve water in) and then poured out a (second surprise) a thick tomato soup into the bowl.  Next we were presented with a small plate that had a variety of toppings for the soup, usually chicharrones (fried pork skins), diced avocado chunks, diced cheese and some diced chilies.

We were used to having tortilla soup as a broth based soup, not tomato soup! But you will be happy to know, the whole thing was fantastic! The thick creamy tomato soup with all the toppings was wonderful. We are now converted to this new, Mexico City Style Tortilla Soup.

Here is the best part:  Trader Joe’s makes it easy to prepare this soup as they sell a fantastic creamy tomato soup in a box- the basis for this whole meal already ready to heat and eat! Yeah!

What you need:

Soup:

  • 1 qt. Trader Joe’s Creamy Tomato soup

Toppings:

  • Tortilla chips (leftovers are great)
  • Diced avocado
  • Grated cheese
  • Trader Joe’s diced green chilies (optional, but they add nice heat to this dish)
  • Trader Joe’s sour cream or Durango Dip

How to:

1. Heat up the Trader Joe’s Creamy Tomato soup

2. Pour into a bowl and pass the toppings

What could be easier?

So try this easy and tasty Tortilla Soup, Mexico City Style today.

Trader Joe’s Trimmed Leeks

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Trader Joe's Trimmed Leeks

Trader Joe's Trimmed Leeks

You know how there is just SO many items at Trader Joe’s? And even thought you shop at the store all the time (and maybe at the exact same locations) you STILL see new stuff?

Here is our latest find: Trader Joe’s Trimmed Leeks

We love the taste of leeks- if you don’t know about leeks, they are a bit like onions, but they also have a hint of garlic to them. They are not overpowering in any way, so they make a good addition to soups or other vegetable dishes.

Our favorite way to eat them is in a Potato Leek Soup!

Now leeks are tricky vegetables. They are grown in sandy soil, which then gets into their many layers and can get trapped if you are not careful.  So please follow the directions below to make sure you get all the dirt and sand out of the leeks before cooking.

How to clean Leeks:

1. Cut off the root ends and slice the leeks the long way.

Leeks cut and ready to wash

Leeks cut and ready to wash

2. Cut the leeks into 1 inch pieces, or whatever size you need for your recipe.

3. Rinse leeks in a bowl of cool water, rubbing the pieces together between your hands to separate the layers.

Washing leeks in cool water to remove grit

Washing leeks in cool water to remove grit

4. Scoop out the leeks into a strainer, colander or onto a clean kitchen towel to drain. Be careful not to disturb any of the dirt/sand at the bottom of the bowl. When the bowl is empty, wash away the dirt/sand.

Cleaned leeks ready for cooking

Cleaned leeks ready for cooking

5. Rinse the leek pieces a second time, in the clean bowl, and scoop out into the strainer.

6. Now the leeks are clean and ready to use.

This does seem like a long list just to get ready to cook with leeks. But it does not take all that long.

We are going to use our leeks in a Potato Leek Soup- What are your favorite ways to cook with leeks?